Dirty Dozen – Danny Davis

Danny Davis believes that he has a legacy to uphold. He has a lot of respect for the snowboarders who shaped shredding and made it what it is today, and he doesn’t want to let the old guard down.

“I’d hate for any of those guys to be looking at snowboarding or look at what I’m doing now and be like, ‘Oh, it sucks now,’ I don’t want that,” says Davis. And by all indications, he’s doing a fine job of keeping snowboarding on the right path. He sites music, friends, and family as some of his biggest influences. He strives to be present during all his pursuits. And his idea of a successful snowboard career doesn’t have anything to do with securing lots of loot. For Davis, it’s all about having fun with his Frends, enjoying the ride, and building on the legacy laid before him.

Who influences you?
Man, I’ve got a lot of influences. Definitely music. I like to listen to a lot of music while I’m shredding, so those musicians really influence me. There’re a lot of rockers I look up to, guys like Bob Dylan, Pink Floyd, and Neil Young, too. That music just gets me excited to go shredding. But as far as snowboarders go, all my homeys-Kevin (Pearce), Jack (Mitrani), Mase (Mason Aguirre), and (Scotty) Lagos-are my biggest influence. Also, I’ve always liked watching Danny Kass, Kyle Clancy, and Lane Knaack ride.

What scares you?
Umm, I get scared that, well … you know, a lot of people hate on certain people in snowboarding and I kind of worry about people hating on me. I don’t want people to hate on me. I want people to like what I’m doing and what I’m trying to do. And then there’s that part of me that says, ‘I don’t really care what those people think about what I’m doing,’ you know? I just want everyone to be cool with everyone and be stoked on snowboarding.

What’s more important-contests or filming?
I think it changes. When I’m at a contest, that’s the thing I’m doing and that’s the most important thing to do at that time. And when I’m going on filming trips, I work hard and that’s what’s really important to me then. So I guess I wouldn’t say one’s more important than the other. I just want to do both.

What’s your idea of a successful snowboard career?
I guess it would be liking what you’re doing all the time. I think if you can make a living out of snowboarding and like what you’re doing all the time and you’re getting by and you’re happy, whether you making a million dollars or 50-thousand dollars a year, I think that’s a good career,

What has snowboarding taught you?
I guess snowboarding’s taught me, no matter where I am to always look at the positive side of things, rather than getting bummed on the negative stuff. It’s just taught me to be stoked all the time about life and just be happy about what I’m doing.

How has snowboarding changed your life?
Well, I’m not living in Michigan anymore, so it’s changed my life a lot in that way. I’ve met a lot more people-a lot more friends. I’ve got a lot more friends now. I’m traveling a ton-I wasn’t doing that (before), that’s for sure. The first time I left the country, besides driving into Canada, was to go to Korea for a snowboard trip. I’ve gotten to see so much of the world, and so far it’s all awesome.

What’s the job part of your job?
I would say jet lag is the hardest part of the job. There’s a lot of flying involved and it sucks being on a plane sometimes, but that’s the worst part about it and that’s not really that bad. Also, just making a lot of decisions can be hard. We deal with a lot of cool people and you can’t make all the cool people happy, so that’s hard ’cause you can’t make everyone super stoked.

What’s next for you in snowboarding?
Well, I would like to do something with my Frends, my crew, you know-Kev, Mason, Lago, Luke, and Jack-and just keeep riding with those guys, ’cause when we all just cruise together we have a ton of fun and we all learn a lot of tricks, and it’s super productive.

I’d also like to film more. I got to go to Alaska last year for two weeks and I had a lot of fun. I’d like to do that again, but go with my homeys and see if we could build some jumps.